Victorian Elegance: 1898-1912

Feb 1, 2007

Courtesy Harper's Bazaar

What was the Harper's Bazaar reader interested in back in 1898? Surely hats were at the top of the list, but those Victorian women also loved the elegant pouf of a shirt sleeve and tips on "fashions for old ladies" — which the editors produced so effectively even then. As indicated by the turn-of-the-century imagery, Bazaar featured both illustrations and photographs for its covers and inside features. Noteworthy changes in this era include an increase in its ever-popular fashion coverage and the magazine's frequency shifting from weekly to monthly.

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It's interesting to note that during this late Victorian/Edwardian period, as the women's suffrage movement was gaining momentum (American women did not all win the right to vote until 1920), the introduction of more tailored dresses and jackets coincided with women's new sense of empowerment. Bazaar also began profiling prominent socialites, such as the Astors and the Griscoms, personalities who continue to capture our attention generations later.

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